Russian Fish Kotleti/Cutlets

If you’re looking beef/pork kotleti, you can find the recipe here. I decided to do fish separately since the recipe and preparation are a little different than with other meats. The result is a very light and savory fish patty that is good with just about anything.

Ingredients

2 pounds of fish filet (your choice)

1 large bread roll (or 2 small ones)

2 cups of milk

2 eggs

Butter (unsalted)

Bread crumbs or Matzo Meal

Salt, pepper, and your favorite seasoning.

*You’ll also need a meat grinder for this one.

Directions

Take your bread roll(s) and break it up into small piece (about 1 inch) and place in a bowl. Pour 1 cup of milk over it and allow a few minutes for the bread to absorb it.

Grind the fish filets and the moistened bread roll into the same bowl.

Add salt and pepper to taste and mix thoroughly with a spoon, then mash together with your hands. The goal is to get the mixture to a uniform consistency. You want to break up the individual bits of fish and bread until the mix is a single mass.

Now, spoon some of the mix into your hand and roll into a ball. Roll as many of these as you can and set aside. It’ll help you streamline the frying process.

Wisk together the other cup of milk and the 2 eggs. Pour about a cup of the bread crumbs into a separate bowl.

Now, take one of the balls you made and flatten it out. Place about a tea spoon of butter into the center and fold over and roll it into a slightly flattened oval patty.

Dip the patty in the milk/egg mix and then the bread crumbs until uniformly covered. Fry the patties in a pan on medium heat using either butter or vegetable oil. It shouldn’t take longer than 5 minutes per side, until the patties turn golden brown.